Two Minnesota Mayors officially proclaim Oromo Week

(OPride) – In recognition of Oromos growing importance to their community, mayors of Minnesota’s Twin Cities on Thursday proclaimed the week of June 29 to July 6, 2013 as “Oromo Week” in Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

“An estimated 35,000 Oromo, most of whom refugee and asylees, have made Minneapolis and the Minneapolis/Saint Paul region their home, after fleeing persecution in their homeland,” Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak wrote in a proclamation document given to leaders of the Oromo Community of Minnesota (OCM).

Rybak urged his residents to accord a warm welcome to guests coming from around the world to participate in the Annual Oromo Festival in North America during the week.

“Visitors from around the world will be participating in festival events including the Oromo Soccer Tournament, the International Oromia Youth conference, shows of worldwide artists, political and human rights conferences, and a host of cultural, religious and social gatherings,’” wrote Mayor Chris Coleman of Saint Paul  in a similarly worded proclamation.

Both Mayors underscored the contribution of Oromo expats to the vitality of their respective cities and the state of Minnesota as a whole.

Unofficially known as Little Oromia, Minnesota is home to the largest number of Oromo immigrants outside of the Horn of Africa. The Oromo are Ethiopia’s single largest ethno-national group, estimated at 40 million. According to estimates by Oromo Studies Association, there are currently over 150, 000 Oromos living in the United States.

“The recognition speaks to the vitality of the Oromo presence in the Twin Cities,” said Hassan Hussein, OCM’s Executive Director, in an email response to OPride.  “And more importantly to its universal message of community, beauty, unity in diversity, tolerance, and humanity’s most cherished and eternal ideal, liberty.”

–Full Report Opride

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